Measuring Livability at the Neighborhood Scale – Development of Indicators and Methods for the Comparison between Neighborhoods and Best Practice within the Chosen City

Abstract

A method that allows an assessment of the livability by comparing different neighborhoods with each other as well as with the best practice was developed in this paper. First of all, a set of 51 indicators comprising the categories of connectivity, traffic, public transportation and bicycle infrastructure, urban form, density, land use, open space coverage ratio, potential for PV, green roof and materials were defined. The values for these indicators were investigated for 36 neighborhoods in the city of Hamburg, Germany. Secondly, some neighborhoods were chosen as the most livable neighborhoods and the average of their results was used for indicating the best practice in Hamburg. This approach allows users to compare their chosen neighborhoods with the best practice of their own city. Thirdly, each absolute indicator value was transferred into a relative one, where 0 % represents the lowest found value and 100 % the highest one. Fourthly, each indicator was assigned with a character. If the smaller percentage the better, like percentage of buildings near a noisy street, this character is “S”. If the bigger percentage the better, like frequency of public travel, the character is “B”. If the closer to the best practice the better, like inhabitants per hectare, the character is “R”. Thus, the ideal neighborhood would show 0 % for character S, 100 % for B and the best practice for R. Finally, the results are presented in the radar charts in order to facilitate the comparison.